Spare A Little Grace?

You’re at the grocery store getting milk, bread and oh you’re here anyway so you might as well pick up a pint of Bluebell ice cream. Make it two. You notice a woman yelling at a beautiful child no bigger than a flowerpot. You don’t hear what she’s saying because you are so taken by this sweet little girl whose large brown eyes seem to say “take me home and be my mommy.” You are angry with the yelling woman and leave the store thinking, “What is wrong with that woman?!”

I

You’re having a lovely dinner out with your husband. The kids are at home tucked in bed and sleeping under the watchful eye of the best babysitter in town. You’ve just talked about the kids, work, and plans for a vacation. There is a pause. Your husband mentions how high the grocery bill has been lately. Another pause. (You know you’ve over spent the budget this month and you need to deflect!) You say, “You wouldn’t believe how many pairs of shoes Mary from down the street has. We’re not talking Target here. For the amount of money she has spent on shoes, we could take our entire family to Disney World! You are so lucky that YOUR wife is not high maintenance.” (You grin and play footsies under the table)

AM

You call your sister with exciting news. You got your first teaching job. Your sister is happy for you but she can’t talk. The kids need dinner. The smallest one is crying into the phone. The dog is eating someone’s library book. She says a quick goodbye and hangs up. You think to yourself about how your sister never has time for a phone conversation and there’s always an interruption if she does. Why have three kids if you can’t handle them! I mean, how hard can it be?

BETTER

You’ve just finished your fifth batch of homemade baby food and placed it in ice cube trays for the freezer labeled and dated. Laundry done. Check. Dinner ready. Check. Kids homemade Halloween costumes made and ironed. Check. You look at the clock. Husband due to arrive home in 15 minutes. Lipstick? Check. Just enough time left over to call your sister and tell her how perfect you are! Check.

THAN

Your best friend hasn’t called in 3 months. You’re thinking it’s time you find a new best friend.

YOU

Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

Spare a little grace for the women in your life. It’s easy to judge others when you haven’t been in their shoes. If you were the one being misjudged how would you feel? Why do we expect the women in our lives to be perfect when we’re not? The truth is, our friends, mothers, mother in laws, sisters and neighbors are huge supporters of us! If we walk around judging them we diminish the bond we share and alienate ourselves from what we crave most. Connection.
Spare a little grace and ask that a little grace be spared for you -- after all, God will willingly supply us with all the grace we need, we just have to go to Him for it!

By Karen-Ann J. Harrison